Samsung R1 Supports DivX, Lets Users Scratch Along to Tunes

Samsung's new R1 media player has a 2.6-inch touch screen, supports DivX video, and lets users put their voice and sound effects to tunes - but no work on a North American release.

Although the device has been expected for some time, today South Korean electronics giant Samsung officially announced its Samsung R1 media player, a followup to the Q2 it introduced earlier this year. The R1 offers a slightly bigger touchscreen, at 2.6 inches, and also roll in support for DivX video and a “Beat DJ” feature enables users to add their own voices and sound effects to songs—just the thing to entertain (or really annoy!) your friends when you hook it up to a stereo system.

“Samsung’s R1 beat player provides a rich multimedia experience for users who prefer a small form factor but don’t want to sacrifice quality,” said Samsung Electronics VP for mobile communications Joo Ho Song, in a statement. “Samsung is committed to launching additional multimedia players with advanced features and designs.”

The R1 is just under 9mm thick and weighs about 50 grams; the 2.6-inch touchscreen display offers a 400 by 240 pixel resolution and Samsung’s TouchWiz interface for navigating features and menus. The R1 supports RMVB, MPEG-4, WMV, H.264, Divx, and Xvid video, along with MP3, WMA, Ogg, FLAC, and AAC audio; users can pack their media into 8 GB or 16 GB of memory, and the R1 sports Bluetooth connectivity for wire-free headsets. The unit also sports an FM tuner, built-in games, and an e-book reader.

Samsung plans to show off the R1 at the IFA trade show this weekend in Berlin, and launch the player in Europe in September, with markets like China, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to follow; no word yet on a North American release, or pricing.